


brighter than the stars

by leviadrache



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 20:37:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11813736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leviadrache/pseuds/leviadrache
Summary: When Leo runs off to spend some time on the rooftop of their school, it is Eichi who finds him there and asks what he is doing. As if a genius had any reasons to explain themselves to a commoner. Ah, yes yes, Leo knows emperors technically don't count as commoners, but please don't remind him of that.





	brighter than the stars

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is based on checkmate. i got so happy eichi and leo used to be on friendly terms with each other, so even two months later it's still not letting me go? so this fic happened  
> a big huge special thanks to @mahoutsukais on twitter, who went though this fic before i even took the time to translate it into full english and did pretty much all of the editing!! he's the really the best and way too good to me!!

_Through the hallways, up a flight of stairs, and finally through the window: reaching the stars is as easy as that. I'll tell you now, but don't you ever forget, okay!! It's a promise then~_

Yumenosaki was designed to be a beautiful and pompous building, kept in an old but noble style. Leo had never been a big fan of architecture, but he recognized art when he saw it.

If he were asked to pick somewhere to stay until the end of his days, he knew he'd choose the world instead of staying in only one place, would rather die than be stuck forever. But you see, staying at Yumenosaki forever would be his second choice. Ah, well, maybe his third choice, if you counted staying by Ruka's side as a place.

Either way, rushing through the familiar corridors was all too easy for Leo. He knew his way up to a few certain places on the roof and that was all that mattered in this moment. Somewhere in this building, Knights was practising for an upcoming live show, but uh –

Cold air greeted him as he climbed through the window of a vacant classroom. Getting out wasn't much of a challenge, really. The hard part was managing to get up a bit higher, higher and higher, until he reached a good spot to stand, leaning his back against the rooftop barricade so that he could have a perfect view of the sky. Not that he could see much besides clouds at the moment.

The air was nice up here. Even though it was winter, the weather was still warm enough that he could be outside without a jacket and despite the clouds, it wasn't too dark yet either. When he looked down, he could make out the people who were fussing around in the yard or the garden terrace.

He loved all those small people that he could see. He loved this school too, loved his classmates. Even when class itself was such a pain, even when he’d never had the intention to become a idol to begin with, Yumenosaki was a place dear to his heart. And yet –

– when he walked through the halls where the smell never changes, when he tried to sleep in the beautiful garden and can't shake this odd feeling, when he saw his own reflection in the bathroom mirrors, looking just the same as usual, but still different than before –

Sometimes, Leo felt as if the whole building wanted to suffocate him.

Lost in thought, one of his feet almost slipped out from under him. _The heck, Tsukinaga? Pay more attention, you fool._ The idea of slipping wasn't a nice one. Suou and Sena would never stop holding that against him. Looking down with that thought in mind proved that, yeah, falling from this height wouldn't end very nicely at all. He didn’t want them to get upset at him, really. Oh, and if he broke his bones, composing would become such a pain, so yes, not happening.

Oh, but hey! Wasn't that the garden terrace right underneath him? That was where the tea club usually met up, huh? Maybe if he managed to fall just like a cat and didn’t break and bones, Rittsu could prepare a nice warm drink for him. Leo was definitely freezing enough by now to warrant a nice drink. God, it really was winter, huh? Maybe he’d been too quick in ditching his jacket; Sena was surely going to scold him again.

Tea club, hmmm? That was Rittsu, this first year from some new unit and? Who again?

Ahhh, how he hated to forget things.

Ah, well. Whatever.

It took some effort to reach the place he wanted: the spot right next to the window of the drama club room. Which wasn't exactly a place to relax either. The rooftop was angled, but not so much that he couldn’t lean back and look up at the sky. It was a nice place to relax, where no one would find him. Though it certainly was cold up here. One breeze hit him after another, but he didn't mind too much. Even dressed in nothing but his school uniform, he could handle this much, and if it did get too much, he could easily slip through the window next to him.

He remembered how often Sena had needed to drag him from this spot in the past. Beautiful, talented Sena who used to help out the drama club quite frequently. Ah, right, he stopped when that club president ended up becoming friends with that person Sena hated.

Uhh, who was it again? Well, Sena did hate a lot of people, so it was kind of a pain to remember them.

“Tsukinaga-kun?”

A head with blond hair looked out of the window. “Ahh, it's really you! I’d almost doubted myself and thought I was imagining things. You're as lively and loud as usual?”

“I'm sorry, but who?”

When the person laughed, Leo thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. Ah, but it was also awfully familiar? Without another word, they kept chuckling as they climbed out of the window.

Leo had quite a bit of trouble telling if they were a boy or a girl. If they were even human at all. Maybe this was an angel that appeared here to scold him for his carelessness, up here in the clouds where Suou and Sena couldn't.

“Don't tell me you really did forget me, Tsukinaga-kun. Up all the way here, talking to yourself? What’s that about anyway?”

Ah, right. It was always the same angel that came for him.

Climbing out of the window was fairly easy, but it seemed as if that blockhead had trouble with it. He kept dangling out of the window for a while until he managed to stand up. Leo didn't move to help. Sure, one wrong step could make that blockhead fall the roof and most likely result in his death, yet all Leo could do was laugh, as he watched the emperor's slow, awkward movements. Angels were beautiful, sometimes cruel, but always shining elegantly. A clumsy angel? Now that was funny.

“I thought you were used to walking on a tightrope. Or was that just a trick too? Ahh, wait, don't speak now, I'll think of a way to make such a trick possible –”

“Isn't it cruel to make fun of me? Looking down on me although I'm just trying to meet you eye to eye.”

That blockhead pouted. But then his usual confidence seemed to spread through his body as he raised to his feet and climbed the rest of the way up to where Leo was leaning against the roof.

Leo watched him as he imitated Leo's pose, laying down beside him. The wind was still blowing relentlessly, messing up Eichi's hair and making him look like some debauched saint. Even with the sun hidden behind the clouds, it was shining brightly. Figured angels didn't need any light to make their hair shine as brightly as if it was bathed in sunlight.

Ahh, wait. An angel? Where??

“Do you have any business with me?”

“You're cute when you growl. Ah, but don't growl at me, please. I just wanted to visit you.”

Another cold breeze made Leo realize that Eichi was just in his school uniform too. He had to be freezing, yet the emperor held his head high as his blue eyes met Leo's. There was no malice in them and, in theory, Leo knew that blockhead wouldn't try to do anything funny. Not that Leo has ever been one to care about theory.

“You never visited me before though?”

“So you didn't forget about me after all!” The smile on his thin face didn't do much to hide how he was clearly shivering from the cold, but it was enough to make Leo remember an old promise.

_Let me take care of you._

“I'm a genius. I don't forget just anything,” Leo huffed. “But you're a damn blockhead. What do you want for real?”

Eichi tilted his head to the side and slowly leaned closer towards Leo. For a second, it looked as if he wanted to lay his head on Leo's shoulder. It was a bit of an old habit in some ways, but it was hard to accomplish like this. That blockhead was too tall for that. Awful, really.

Almost a shame, really.

Ahh, but wait, stop, stop, stop!!

Leo had to remind himself that he should prefer it this way. He didn't want this gross blockhead anywhere close to him. They weren't the same people they used to be. Leo wasn’t anyone’s knight, didn’t bow his head to anyone anymore. He made that point pretty clear. Dwelling on the past was nice, but harsh reality crushed on top of their heads soon enough, showed them that some dreams were better off staying as only that. Which was rude actually? But then, Leo wasn't the same as he used to be, so maybe the change was for the better.

But if it were possible, did he want to go back?

(Back to when they would play four hand pieces on the piano together in the hospital until it was so dark they could barely see the keys in front of them, back to laying his head against Eichi when he got tired, back to sharing hospital beds that were much too small for two people to share.

If it were possible, would he want to go back to being Eichi’s friend? Back to feeling love, so genuinely and strong, in a way only youth could let you feel.)

“I want nothing from you,” Eichi said finally, his soft voice breaking into Leo's train of thoughts. “I was lonely in there and happened to see you climbing up here. Following you seemed like a fun plan. You see, I was a bit bored. Ah, but I'm really glad I did.”

He fumbled with the fabric of his sleeves, pulling them further over his hands. Then he closed his eyes. There was a content expression on his face. Not for the first time did Eichi give Leo a chance to stare at him and wonder if falling in love could really be so simple.

A part inside his head protested here, told him that, no, it wasn't simple. Nothing with that emperor was ever simple, there were at least five layers of hidden intentions to every action of him. But loving people had always been easiest thing for Leo, came naturally to him, just like the fact that the sun would rise each and every morning. Loving Eichi couldn't be a mistake then, right?

Opening his blue eyes again, Eichi started to giggle.

“Do you intend to just look at me? I can notice your gaze on me, you know? Oh, but don’t stop, it’s cute, really.” More fumbling with his blazer. “You see, Tsukinaga-kun? I didn't mean to disturb you, so do whatever you wanted to do here. There must be a reason you climbed up here, right?”

“A reason?” Leo furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to remember if he had a reason to be here. “Ah, why was I here again? Does it even matter? I'm here, that’s what matters! Hmm, maybe it's just where the universe wanted me to be. It would be awful to disobey the universal order, right? Ahh, but maybe I'm just here because today is the perfect day to watch the stars?”

The emperor's reputation of never losing his smile didn't just came from nothing. It seemed to be plastered to his face, even when his eyes left Leo's to look around. “It’s awfully cloudy today already, but Tsukinaga-kun? Even if it weren’t, it's still too bright for the stars to come out.”

“See, this is why you're a blockhead, idiot. The stars are always there!! They aren't always visible, but you just know they're somewhere up there, looking down on us. Even right now!! There might be a bunch of star folks watching us all like, hey, look at that King and his Emperor, don't they look pathetic, trying to be all high and mighty when all they’re doing is freezing in the cold.”

“Is that so?” Eichi wondered. Moving too slowly, his fingers found Leo's hand. When he spoke up again, Leo wasn't sure if it was just his imagination or if Eichi's voice really grew softer. “You're here, so I'm not particularly freezing.”

Leo laughed, trying not to let get Eichi’s weird actions get to him. There was this mantra in his head, something he always had to force his mind to think when he dealt with this blockhead. It went like, _don’t let him get to you, don’t don’t let him get to you_ –

“Really? Ahh, you're so funny, that's the most stupid thing I've ever hear you say, you blockhead.”

_Don’t let him get to you, don’t let him get to you._

“Ah, but it's true? Anyone else would be scolding me with no end if they knew what I was doing right now. Like 'Are you crazy? Don't you treasure your life?'. Things like that. They'd want me to come back down and warm up. Yet, here you are, not saying a single word. Do you not care about my health? Maybe you really just want me to die here.”

_Don’t let him get to you, don’t let him get to you, don’t_ –

Wait, what?

How could he want for Eichi to die when just walking through the halls of the school, when the infirmary and literally every place here smelled of Eichi, reminded Leo of him.

“You know, how angels are so beautiful and out of reach? Well, for my part, I don't want mine to leave me ever.”

Eichi kept his eyes on the sky above them. Did he understand what Leo meant? There was a time where Leo felt they could understand each other without any words. Eichi was clever, a genius of his own kind, and he understood the language of Leo’s music. But would they still understand each other now?

“Is that so?” A frown on his face, Eichi looked to his side, finally meeting Leo's gaze. “Angels, huh? I thought I was a blockhead.”

“Of course you are!”

Leo grinned and Eichi looked back at him, somewhere between surprised and confusion. “Wahaha, that stupid look really suits you! See, that's why you're a blockhead.” Lowering his voice, Leo took a deep breath, leaning back once more to watch the sky. It was still cloudy, but it looked as if the sky was clearing up. Maybe they would fade away soon enough to give him a clear view of the night sky. Though he felt as if he didn't need that.

Reaching out with his hand, he let his finger brush over the back of Eichi's, that was still holding on to his. The skin was cold, either because of the weather or because of Eichi's weak constitution. Rubbing the tip of his fingers over it didn't seem to help much to warm it up. But he liked to touch Eichi, so he kept doing it. He has always loved to be around Eichi and since neither of them disliked physical contact, it came natural to them. Sliding his hand into Eichi's so their palms pressed against each other also came natural to him.

“But even as blockhead, you're still Tenshi, too.”

“Tenshi?” It was rare for the always smiling emperor to stop smiling, so even if it wasn't the first time for Leo to witness this, it felt off. Not exactly scary, but, well, too familiar? It reminded him of the days when they relaxed around each other without hesitation. Leo was fond of this look on Eichi's face. It made Eichi much more reactive after all. Yet, when he spoke up again, Leo didn't feel relaxed at all. “Please don't just bring back those things from the past. If you want to argue with me or pretend like things never happened, that's fine, but using this nickname again is such a low blow. I do have feelings too.”

Leo has heard Eichi's voice get sharp and cold before, but up to now, it has never been directed to him like this. He could feel his spine freeze up in a way that had nothing to do with the cold wind. The impulse to quickly run away flashed through his mind. He would be faster than Eichi, so there was no harm in just leaving. But Leo wasn't a coward anymore.

(But Eichi was still holding his hand.)

“Do you really now? I didn't see many feelings when you trampled all over my knights and me.”

Eichi stayed silent at that.

Which made Leo angry. It wasn't as if Eichi didn't hear him, so why wasn't he replying? Anything would be fine, he just needed Eichi so say something, argue that it was all Leo's fault anyway. Even when his knights tried to act as if he wasn't at fault for what happened, deep down he know what was true. He knew he betrayed their trust, knew he messed up and acted like a small child when they were relying on him.

He knew he ran away when his presence was needed the most.

Just remembering all the pressure from back then, how it used to weight him down and was impossible to bear on his shoulder, just the memory made Leo's heart beat speed up.

“Are you alright?” There was a lack of interest in his voice as Eichi looked at Leo with a raised eyebrow. “Is the news of me having feelings really _that_ hard to process?”

“I'm perfectly fine,” Leo snapped, perhaps a bit too quickly to sound believable.

“Huh? Is that so? Hmm, maybe I should change that by stepping on your knights again?”

And shit, there it was. That unaffected way Eichi could talk about these things didn't creep under his skin and made him shiver before. But right now, it seemed like the scariest thing in the world.

Leo wouldn't let that happen. He wouldn't be fooled by pretty voices and pretty faces again.

“Don't you dare think you could just do as you please? We're strong! My knight are the strongest! We'll never lose to the likes of you!! So don't you dare –”

“I know,” Eichi interrupted. “I know, I know. I'm sorry.”

“ – don't you dare think you could beat us – hmm? What?”

Eichi rolled his eyes, looking as if he wanted to glare at Leo. “Please don't make me repeat myself. It's not like me to say such things, so don't act as if you didn't hear it.”

“You're…. sorry?” Green eyes widened in surprise as he watched Eichi shift around, clearly avoiding to look into Leo's eyes as he tilted his head to the side.

“Sorry... for causing you grief,” he mumbled. There was a faint flush on his cheeks, which totally didn't match his usual proud and confident look, but Leo was rather fond of that. In fact, it distracted him enough to make him forget about the meaning of Eichi's words.

Well, temporarily.

Not that it would last for too long.

Going back with Eichi's words in his mind, Leo turned them over. Once, then twice, maybe more even, just to look for a fault in Eichi's words. Sure, they sounded genuine enough, but there was no certainty with this selfish emperor. What was he trying to gain here? Leo has made it more then clear that he had no intention to compose for any other unit besides Knights, made it even clearer that he had no intention to write a song for fine. But then why was Eichi trying to lure him?

“Tsukinaga-kun? Am I being ignored now?”

Eichi looked irritated, but still with that slightly flushed face. It didn't look bad, but just very amusing. Funny enough to make Leo let his head fall back and burst out into laughter.

“Wahaha!! It’s just, ahh, well! Sorry? You??”

Leo wasn't sure what else to do anyway, so hey. Laughing was always appropriate. Faintly, he could hear Eichi sigh, but that didn't do much to make him stop. He kept laughing and laughing, unable to stop once he started. Ah, but it was really funny! The high and mighty emperor apologizing to a mere mortal like him? A comedic treasure, honestly! It was getting hard to hear anything when his own laugh was the only thing ringing inside his ears, but that's fine! Although he noticed the faint presence of Eichi's voice, he couldn't process any words. Which was fine too! It would just make him feel worse if he could hear how his heart wouldn't stop beating in his chest.

Just him, his own laughter and cold wind. That was familiar, wasn't it?

He wasn't sure how much time passed like that, but that didn't matter either way. He was waiting for the sun to set either way, but, ah. When he opened his eyes, he noticed it seemed slightly brighter than before. A good sign, a good sign! Maybe he wouldn't have spent his time here waiting for nothing. Noticing the sudden silence, he looked to his side. Eichi was still there right next to him.

“Aren't you freezing?”

Eichi scowled. “I'm just fine.” Leo raised his brow at that.

“I can see you shivering though? Or is that just in fear of my genius? I see, I –“

“No,” Eichi cut in swiftly. “I'm fine and about to leave anyway.”

“Ahh, wait wait!!”

Leo was used to acting out of impulse, but when he saw Eichi’s eyes widen, he found even himself surprised. His thoughts wouldn't stop spinning because, _why are you like this, what are you thinking, don't get close to this person_?

(Why do you still want to be close to this person?)

“Wait for what? Look, while it might have slipped past a genius like yourself, I don't have time to wait here and freeze to death. If you don't wish for any type of resolution, then I don't have any time to waste here either. If you want to wilt away up here all by yourself, you're free to do so, though –“

“Tenshi!!”

“W-what are you doing?”

Leo laughed. “It's been awhile since I've heard you stutter like that! I love that sound!”

Instead of letting Eichi speak, Leo nuzzled his cheek against Eichi's. He had climbed on top of Eichi's body, so his chest was now pressed against Eichi's. Luckily enough, that stupid blockhead was awfully tall, which made it easy for Leo to curl up on his chest. He was really shivering a lot. Leo felt guilt rising up in his chest. If Eichi harmed himself up here, wouldn't that be fully Leo's fault? He still was such a failure, always putting others in danger. Ah, but he never wanted Eichi to come up here in the first place? But then, he didn't want him to leave too, which, ahh!! Thinking was too confusing!! Things were better off when you left them to your intuition.

So Leo did that, rubbing his head against Eichi's, before leaning back to meet Eichi's gaze.

“I'm the one who should be sorry!!”

“Huh?”

“Can you not hear me? I said I'm sorry!!” Leo took a deep breath. He was so bad at putting his thoughts into words, so bad at being honest and straight-forward, but please, please let him not mess this up. “I messed... I think... shit I just...”

Leo was sure he was on the right track. If Eichi just were a little more patient, he could have managed a cool speech and told that emperor everything he wanted. Well, not that he knew what he wanted to say, but that damn blockhead didn't even give him a chance, so you see? Totally rude and uncalled for??

It would have all been so cool, if Eichi didn't interrupt him by placing the back of his hand on Leo's cheek, catching Leo off guard and silencing him immediately. And the way Eichi looked at him was so upsetting too?? Bright blue eyes, a shade that couldn't possibly look warm and yet it _did_.

“Sshh, it's okay.” Eichi's voice was reassuring and smooth as he ran his hand over Leo's hair. “No need to shed any tears, Ou-sama-kun.”

“I'm not crying,” Leo almost sobbed, and, oh. He felt something running down his cheek, something very warm and wet and, shit. Maybe he was crying.

The realization made it worse, since Leo suddenly found it impossible to keep quiet. He could tell his shoulders were shaking and tears were flowing over his face, falling down on Eichi's face. But it was all so much and too late, so he couldn't stop it now.

There was a relief in crying, even when he wasn't sure why he was crying in the first place, it felt not too bad. As if he got lighter which each tear that fell down his cheek. Blinking through his tears, he could see Eichi making a funny face. He was tempted to laugh, before he realized that Eichi seemed to be holding back tears too.

_They were really a mess, huh?_

Burring his face in the crook of Eichi's neck, Leo ran his hand over Eichi's chest. “Gosh, Tenshi, why are you crying?”

“If you're not crying, then I'm not crying either.”

“That's so stupid, I want to laugh!”

“How can you laugh when you're crying?”

“I'm the naked king! I can always laugh!!! Wahahaha!”

Leo couldn't see Eichi's expression, but he could hear him huff. He expected a retort from Eichi back at him, to keep their quarrelling up, but instead he soon felt a hand running over his head.

In a soothing slow motion, Eichi ran his fingers though Leo's hair, the touch surprisingly tender. He didn't pull it out of the tie Leo kept it in, moved very carefully and Leo didn't know why being treated so gently made him cry more, but it was hard to dwell on that right now. All of his energy went into biting down on his lips as he buried his face deeper in Eichi's shoulder.

“You laugh too much,” Eichi said then.

Even after they stopped crying, neither of them had spoken up. To be fair, Leo didn't even remember where their conversation had ended. Extracting himself from Eichi's hold, he went back to laying next to the other, though he felt less of a need to keep any distance from Eichi. Especially not when it was tempting to share his own body heat by staying close. It was easy to get caught up in counting the beating of Eichi's heart. Leo had used it as a metronome for too many songs than he wanted to admit. Even when Eichi would say his weak heart beat was good for nothing, he always smiles eventually, told Leo there was no way it would if Leo kept listening for it so intently.

“Hmmm?”

He still didn't like to be interrupted in his thoughts. Even though he wasn't thinking of anything particular, he kept himself busy by counting the clouds that passed over them as the sun was getting lower.

“You laugh too much. Is it that hard for you to open up?”

“As if you have room to talk.”

“Will you finally tell me what you're waiting for here then?”

Eichi pouted, an expression so absolutely childish and bratty that Leo couldn't hold back more laughter as he moved closer to Eichi, shifting so he was half laying on Eichi's chest. Listening to his heartbeat was much easier from there. There was also this old impulse that was hard to stop thinking about. Something he has missed for quite a while now, managed to suppress by avoiding Eichi completely. But the crying made him feel very lighthearted and –

Daring.

Daring enough to move both of his hands to cup Eichi's face and hold it in place as he moved closer.

Though he did stop right before their lips met, less than a few centimetres away. It made Eichi leave out a frustrated noise and he tried to move his head to meet Leo's lips, but Leo's hands were firmly holding on to his face.

“I was just waiting for the sun to set, hoping I'd get to see some stars. But I think I already found one, you see?”

Eichi’s eyes widened. He seemed to stop breathing, didn’t move his eyes and with the dilated pupils, Leo almost wondered if Eichi finally died then. Well, not really, since Eichi still looked very alive, but that would be an interesting scenario, right? Maybe he should write a song about that.

“Tsukinaga-kun? Are you still here?”

Leo huffed. “Of course, gosh, Tenshi. Too impatient.”

Trailing his hand over Eichi’s cheek, his chin, slowly pushing those blue eyes closed with the tip of his fingers, careful enough not to hurt him, Leo finally leaned closer again.

“Still impatient?” he murmured, careful not to brush his lips against Eichi’s as he spoke.

“Yes,” Eichi confirmed, for once not going on one of his long rants.

For once in his life, Eichi made things simple, held onto the back of Leo’s head and kissed him.

There was a lot going on in Leo’s mind usually, but, in that moment, it was very easy to organize his thoughts. First and foremost, he came the conclusion that while running away was one of the things he did the best, it was rather nice to stop avoiding the things he regrets. Kissing Eichi was nice. Though that was a whole different thought, accompanied in his mind by the way he felt Eichi’s lips were too cold and dry, too thin for Leo to nibble on too. Sena had always been nicer to kiss, honestly. Not that any of these things made the kiss less enjoyable.

Leo could feel how fast his own heartbeat was, after all.

There was still tons of things to solve, to talk about, things they needed to discuss before they could move on, but for now, as he moved back to catch his breath and saw Eichi’s cheeks slightly flushed, saw him breathing hard as well, Leo thought that hey, even if they were King and Emperor, any business could wait a bit.

Hopefully long enough for another few kisses.

\---

Leo didn't remember what else they talked about as the sun moved lower. He just knew time was running by very fast as Eichi kept laying on the rooftop next to him, looking to be peaceful and content enough to be asleep. He was very aware of Eichi's gaze on him, as they talked about whatever came into their minds. Even in the cold, it was easy to forget time. Soon enough, the sun started to set and finally it became dark.

“Hey, see, the stars are finally visible! I knew they would be especially pretty today. Clouds are just the curtain for the stars, you know.”

“Is that so?” Eichi giggled, sliding his hand out of Leo's to bring the tips of his fingers to Leo's lips. “I'm glad my star has been here with me all along.”

When they were finally found by a worried Keito and a very pleased looking Wataru, Leo was close to falling asleep himself. The two made them sit in the Student Council room as Keito lectured them on how irresponsible they were and practically everything else Eichi ever did wrong in his life. Leo loved Keito, loved watching him as he spoke, but staying on a rooftop all day made people tired, so he couldn't help be bothered to listen. So he didn't.

Later, Eichi would say Leo did a well to fall asleep like that. It immediately made Keito stop lecturing them and sooner than their slow, tired minds could process, they both got back to their homes.

Even later, Eichi would ask Leo to meet him and Leo would refuse to do so, but still show up where Eichi wanted him. They would sit together and talk so much, both of them were good at rambling about this and that. But they were also both good at avoiding what they truly meant to say, so the beginning was hard. Anything after the troublesome start was fairly easy though. Both of them had enough to say to the other, things they held back for much too long, things they didn’t dare to admit before.

Leo didn’t say he missed Eichi when he felt lonely and Eichi didn’t mention how suffocating hospital rooms could be without any visitors, but that was fine. There was enough they still had to work on. Neither knew how long it might take to fix what broke between them, even despite Eichi’s intelligence and Leo’s genius.

But what was more important was the way Eichi’s silly jokes made Leo smile. What mattered was how they could still laugh together and feel as if things are still fine and not broken beyond repair.

What mattered was how, the closer they got to spring, the less Leo hesitated when he wanted to grab Eichi’s hand, to pull him through the hallways, up over the stairs, and then through the window.

_You didn’t forget our promise, so we’ll always have to take care of each other now. Ahh, it’s really unfortunate and bothersome, but don’t you dare grow tired of me now, Tenshi!_

**Author's Note:**

> did i mention i'm super into eichi and leo being happy and sappy together? i know they're awful, don't @ me but pls let them be happy


End file.
